Head of Genesis Parish of the Celestial Church of Christ, Alagbado, Lagos Prophet Israel Ogundipe has been jailed for a year by an Ikeja High Court for stealing and unlawful conversion of a woman’s property.
Ogundipe who has been on trial since 2011 was charged with seven counts of stealing, inducing delivery of money by false pretences, unlawful conversion of property and forgery.
Delivering the judgement on Wednesday night, Justice Olabisi Akinlade found Ogundipe guilty of two counts of stealing and unlawful conversion of property.
The judge found the cleric not guilty of five counts of stealing, inducing delivery of money by false pretences, giving false information to a public officer and forgery.
She sentenced the convict to a year in prison on each of the two counts he was found guilty.
The judge ordered that he should pay the complainant a London-based architect Oladele Williams-Oni the sum of N11 million which he illegally obtained from her.
“Both sentences are to run concurrently and the defendant is to restitute the complainant the sum of N2.5 million in respect of count two (stealing) and N8.5 million in respect of count four (unlawful conversion of property not delivered),” the judge said.
The court had heard the offences were committed from August 30, 2002 to October 2004.
